


How to woo a Trickster

by Gemenice



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: DNA Tests, Handcuffs, M/M, a spin off to the trickster episode, but not in the good way, home arrest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 21:35:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5264462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemenice/pseuds/Gemenice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Axel spent a decade corresponding with James Jesse. He planned his escape, yet throughout the whole deal he didn’t take a single life. It was only after Jesse joined that the first death came. James Jesse who was able to talk a psychiatrist into committing suicide. Jesse knew how to manipulate people, how to make them do he wanted them to. Axel didn’t give the vibe of a killer. At least not to Eddie. </p><p>Axel’s court would also be in few days. </p><p>Eddie turned and started walking up the stairs. He needed to talk to Barry. He needed The Flash’s help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to woo a Trickster

Eddie sighed, looking at the kid that was sitting there, handcuffs on his wrists, the grin that was on his face just few moments ago, gone. He was frowning instead, and looked – if Eddie was supposed to guess – scared. That didn’t surprise him – he read the kid’s file. Best in his class, skipped a year, the student class president… Hell he even won that chess tournament and some kind of chemistry competition. Then he got the first letter from Jesse and things kind of went to hell. Oh, the kid got his diploma, but then he dropped off everyone’s radar until… well until just recently. Where the Trickster II showed up, and messed up everything with those bombs. They didn’t hurt anyone though, and Eddie wondered a bit – because the first attack… the first attack could have killed loads. He only needed to let them go at the same time, to start them closer to the kids. Yet, he didn’t. It felt like he didn’t want to hurt them really, even the bombs didn’t deal that much damage. And Eddie knew how much power you could put into such a small package. No one got hurt there. The last kid thanks to Flash, but _still._ There was something about that.

 

Then the whole prison part. No one died there – Axel could pretty much make his threats real, he could get two bombs, one in that crate of his and one at the prison and yet he didn’t. He just went for the prison one, even though they would be looking for the other bomb one way or another. If he really wanted to cause that much damage, he could’ve made sure the other bomb would blow up as well. Again, he didn’t do that. No one even got killed at the prison, all guards were alive, there was one with broken leg, but otherwise everyone was fine.

 

It was only after Jesse got out that things went down the wrong road. Kidnapping Henry Allen was the first misstep. The second was the guy that got killed on that event. But still, it wasn’t _Axel’s_ plan to kill them, it wouldn’t fit. The kid could’ve killed so many people yet he didn’t at all. Not one.

 

Axel didn’t kill anyone. That was the thing that kept screaming at the back of Eddie’s mind, the instinct of the detective that he was.

 

As Eddie watched, a woman with a kid walked by, pushing the kid into a chair several places away from Axel, whispered something to him – something that didn’t really stop the kid’s tears, before she patted his shoulder and went off to one of the offices. The kid was sniffling quietly for a while, and it was breaking Eddie’s heart. So he stood up and went off in the search of hot water – at least he could make the kid some hot chocolate.

 

It took him a while to find any – seemed like Barry went through the sweets again, and when he returned the kid wasn’t alone anymore. Axel was sitting next to him, saying something to the kid, motioning around him with his bound hands and the expression on the kid’s face seemed to be somewhere between horrified and interested. When Axel giggled and snickered at whatever he himself just said, the kid smiled a bit. Axel grinned right back, then looked up. When he noticed Eddie watching them quietly from the side, the smile slipped off his face once again and he slipped away from the kid, to his original seat, his head hung down and staring at his hands.

 

If Eddie’s heart wasn’t breaking before, it was breaking now. He walked over to the kid, offering him the chocolate. The boy took it, warming his fingers on it, but kept glancing at Axel, who didn’t even lift his head.

 

Eddie took a deep breath and talked to the kid, asking him about his favorite toys and colors and it wasn’t long before the woman returned. A social worker, now that Eddie could take a better look, and that meant something not too nice had to happen to the kid’s family. She took his hand and smiled at Eddie before leading the kid away.

 

They didn’t get too far when the boy told something to her, than ran back with the mug still in his hands. No wonder the kid forgot about it, Eddie himself did – but the boy didn’t return the mug to Eddie. He handed it to _Axel._

 

Axel, whose eyes snapped up at that and the boy smiled shyly and patted his shoulder, before running off again. Axel, who was staring after the boy, before glancing down at the mug. Axel who then looked at Eddie and lifted the mug to him – only then did Eddie notice that the cup was still half full.

 

“I think he wanted you to finish that.” Eddie said as he stood up, and stretched his back. “You should do that, the chocolate is really nice. I’ll come back for the mug.” He said, before he turned and walked off, frown on his face.

 

He didn’t look back at Axel, he didn’t have the time. He didn’t have a good feeling about the kid going to jail, and if he learnt something over the years of being a cop, it was to trust his gut feeling. The kid didn’t deserve the prison.

 

Axel spent a decade corresponding with James Jesse. He planned his escape, yet throughout the whole deal he didn’t take a single life. It was only after Jesse joined that the first death came. James Jesse who was able to talk a psychiatrist into committing suicide. Jesse knew how to manipulate people, how to make them do _he_ wanted them to. Axel didn’t give the vibe of a killer. At least not to Eddie.

 

Axel’s court would also be in few days.

 

Eddie turned and started walking up the stairs. He needed to talk to Barry. He needed The Flash’s help.

 

***

 

It wasn’t easy. The judge looked at them as if they lost their minds and funnily so did Axel’s defense lawyer – not that the guy did a lot from the beginning, which Edie thought was really unfair. Sure, people should get punished for their actions, but shouldn’t the advocates even attempt to get them a good deal?

 

Maybe that was why _Eddie_ fought so hard for it. Though he was sure he wouldn’t manage a lot alone. It was Barry – or better, _The Flash_ , that made the most impact. It was rather unusual for a hero to defend a villain and Eddie was sure it was going to run in news for weeks, if not months.

 

It wasn’t easy battle, it was pretty far from it, but somehow, they managed. The judge agreed that Axel Walker didn’t need to go to prison as long as he was under constant watch in house arrest and with a promise from Flash to come around the place as often as possible to ensure the safety of the civilians.

 

Barry thought it was a miracle. Eddie leaned more towards the theory that it was Axel’s lack of any previous record, Jesse’s mind-controlling past and of course, _The Flash_ defending him, that put the scales in their favor, but it was good for people to believe in miracles, so he didn’t say anything.

 

So that was how Axel ended up at Eddie’s house. He didn’t go quietly though, he kept kicking and screaming and Eddie just pushed a hand over Axel’s mouth to stop him from calling the judge whatever he planned to, but Eddie was sure it was far from anything nice.

 

Axel didn’t seem too happy about the thing himself, because he was standing in the middle of the room, glaring and bristling, reminding Eddie too much of that cat he had as a kid. The one that kept snarling at anyone who would even walked by her, her claws out as soon as you looked at her.

 

“Why the hell did you do that?!” Axel yelled, his handcuffed wrists in front of him, and glaring at Eddie. “I should be in that jail!”

 

“No, look.” Eddie sighed, then licked his lips. He never thought finding right words was that hard. Usually, one just said what was on their minds at the moment and that was it, but somehow, right now it all felt a bit harder. Eddie was talking to a brainwashed kid, one that should realize that it wasn’t his fault what happened. That yes, while he deserved some kind of punishment, it wasn’t jail. “I know what you’re thinking right now-“

 

“Pretty sure you don’t.” Axel scoffed, interrupting him. Eddie decided to ignore that.

 

“-that it’s your fault, that you deserve that, but no, you don’t. Jesse is-“

 

“Jesse is my father!” Axel snapped, taking a step closer. “Now he is alone in there and that was _not_ how it was supposed to go! We weren’t supposed to get caught, but if we did, I’m not going to be alone again!”

 

Eddie’s heart throbbed as he stared at Axel, his pupils blown, his cheek slightly red and breathing hard… He swallowed, before taking a deep breath.

 

“Axel… he is not.” He said quietly, ready for the thunderstorm.

 

Instead, the boy’s shoulder fell a bit, his eyes, turned to Eddie so, _so_ confused and a little wet. A quivering distrustful smile settled over his lips, before he opened his mouth.

 

“What?”

 

“He’s not your father, Axel.”

 

“He is.” Axel said, shaking his head, grinning. But the grin looked strained, and the boy was shaking. His hands curling into each other as he didn’t look away from Eddie. “He is. He told me he is, he wouldn’t lie to me. You know. He’s my father.”

 

“We ran the tests when Henry Allen gave his testimony. When he told us what Jesse said to you. You’re not related, at all. He said that to manipulate you. To use you.” Eddie said, hating himself a little for it, because the kid flinched as if every word that was coming out of Eddie’s mouth was a lash of a whip. But Axel needed to know it, if he should ever have the chance to move on. The kid was still shaking his head, though, and Eddie took a deep breath.

 

“I can bring you the test results.” At that Axel stopped, looked down and took a deep breath. “He tricked you, Axel.” Eddie said, stepping closer to the kid, whose shoulders were shaking now and Eddie could see the tears running down his face.

 

Eddie hated it. He hated Jesse for lying to Axel and making him feel this way. He hated the whole system, for letting Axel even get Jesse’s letters. He hated Jesse for even contacting him. And he hated himself a little, for pushing Axel like this. But not telling him wouldn’t help a thing and Eddie knew that was the only way, even if it felt horrible.

 

He touched Axel’s neck – and in next moment Eddie’s hand was pushed away, Axel jumped back, glaring, through the tears. He turned and marched out of the way, stopping near the door just to push the vase there on the ground, before walking to the room that Eddie said was going to be his.

 

Eddie sighed. That was going to be so wonderful.

 

***

 

The first day, Axel almost didn’t even step out of the room. Eddie didn’t really want to intrude on him, the boy was obviously hurting and he didn’t want to make it worse, but he paid attention to the door – the kid shouldn’t be able to escape, the front and back doors and windows were all locked. But he was still so relieved when the kid got out to take a piss (and glare at Eddie the whole time he was unlocking his handcuffs) several times that day.

 

He didn’t go far though, toilet and back, the door closing behind him once again. Eddie mentally went through the list of things Axel still had available in his room, wondering if there was anything that could kill Axel, himself or was good enough to make a bomb or another kind of weapon. He didn’t think bed, chair, desk, closet, clothes, book, paper and pen would fit.

 

… okay, maybe the pen, but Eddie believed in his abilities that he gained through the years of training that he will be able to defend himself against a _pen_. That didn’t worry him.

 

What _did_ worry him was the fact the Axel didn’t touch any of the food that Eddie brought to him and left it in front of his door. He didn’t even drink the water, and while Eddie could understand mourning, even if it was mourning like this, he believed it wasn’t healthy. Because while no one died, Axel did lose someone close to him. Even if it was just a deceptive idea, it was something that Axel wanted to believe, that Axel was happy about, that helped him feeling like he belonged.

 

So Eddie decided not to push that day. He could always talk to him the next one.

 

***

 

Eddie didn’t need the boy to come out of his room the next day. He found out when he was in the shower and Axel pulled away the curtain, wide grin on his face, as if the depressed day the day ago didn’t even happen. It was a bit of a shock.

 

Maybe that was the reason why it took Eddie whole three seconds before he yelped and pulled the curtain around his hips. Which only made Axel grin wider, his hand curled into the curtain, Eddie feeling a little bit embarrassed. Or maybe more than just a little bit.

 

“What are you doing here?!” He hissed, and for a moment he didn’t care for any possible future guilt feelings when he’ll remember that Axel just lost his parent in a sense, two days ago.

 

“I’m hungry.”

 

Well, obviously, since he didn’t eat anything the last day, but really?!

 

“I’m in the shower.” He said quietly and Axel shrugged.

  
“Yeah, I noticed. You’re spraying the water everywhere. Geez, drying this will really suck.” The kid said, beaming.

 

Eddie opened his mouth and closed it. Was this the same guy that had tears in his eyes not too long ago? Because right now he was grinning, and running his eyes over Eddie’s form.

 

“Are those stretch marks?” He asked, focusing on Eddie’s hip and Eddie’s eyes widened as he stepped behind the curtain fully. He still felt more than half conscious about that and embarrassed and the kid probably noticed, because he snickered.

 

“It’s not unusual. For women that were pregnant.” The kid said cheekily and something in Eddie woke up once again. His hand clutched at the curtain and he forced a smile on his face. The kid didn’t know. It wasn’t his fault. People were usually joking about this stuff, it wasn’t that he picked that especially to remind Eddie of it all.

 

“Great, yes. I’ll finish here and I’ll come make you something, okay?” He asked slowly and Axel shrugged.

 

“I can wait here.” Axel smirked.

 

…what? But the boy leaned against the wall and Eddie frowned.

 

“No, you really can’t. _Please_ go to the kitchen.”  He said and for a moment it looked like Axel wouldn’t listen. Eddie was half decided to tell him to do that or he’ll call The Flash, and let Flash deal with him. But then the guy turned and walked out of the bathroom and Eddie let out a relieved sigh. He didn’t want to resort to threats as long as he didn’t need to. That wouldn’t make the situation better for any of them.

 

He stepped out of the shower, quickly drying himself and pulling on first clothes he could find. He didn’t need to look too presentable, after all he was only staying home watching Axel. Sweatpants and loose shirt were good enough for that – and the shirt had nothing to do with Axel’s words in shower.

 

When Eddie stepped into the kitchen, Axel was sitting at the table, his feet folded under on the chair. He clapped when Eddie stepped in.

 

“Yay! Finally fapped out, hm?”

 

Eddie stopped with his hand on the fridge door and turned to face Axel.

  
“I have a feeling I don’t want to know what you mean.” Eddie said with a small hesitant smile. The grin on Axel’s face became devilish and he made a gesture with his hand, very close to his crotch and yes. Eddie was happy enough before, not knowing.

 

“I didn’t.” He shook his head and turned, taking out the eggs and picking up a pan. He was lucky enough to have the shells broken by the time Axel opened his mouth.

 

“Why not? Is there something wrong with you? You can’t get it up or something?” The boy asked and Eddie didn’t turn. Oh, he was more than just aware that the kid was just messing with him. After all, the broken vase in trash was proof enough.

 

And Eddie was good at not getting mad.

 

“Do you mind eggs for breakfast?”

 

“Yours? Ew.”

 

Eddie’s hand froze over the stove, before he started mixing the eggs again. The kid was just trying him. He KNEW that.

 

“Well, yes. I bought them.” Eddie answered lightly, or at least he _hoped_ his tone was light. He divided the food on two plates and then turned, putting one down in front of Axel before unlocking a drawer and offering Axel a fork.

 

“There you go. Salt is on the table, if you need it.”

 

Axel huffed and snatched the fork, pushing some of the eggs in his mouth, before his eyes widened and he swallowed, looking down at his plate.

 

“This is good.” He said, the voice genuinely surprised and Eddie laughed.

 

“Thank you.” He said, smiling, then chuckled when the guy proceeded to clean the plate off, looking as if he was complementing licking it off as well. But he didn’t, instead, after a while he lifted the plate to Eddie with what Eddie believed were the worst puppy eyes he ever saw. And he knew Barry,. That by itself was something. Before Eddie knew what he was doing, he pushed his plate over to the kid, who whooped and managed to eat all of that too.

 

At least that time, it took a bit more than ten seconds.  When the kid finished Eddie’s plate, he stretched like a content cat. Eddie couldn’t hold back a smile. For once Axel wasn’t snapping, glaring or just being obnoxious and it felt nice.

 

It didn’t last too long though, as few hours later Axel started bitching about everything and anything he could, including the position of the furniture and mirror. For a moment Eddie wondered if Axel’s not a feng shui fan, so maybe the placement really offended him – it was possible with some people. Especially if he was supposed to live there for some time, until they managed to lift the sentence for good behavior – which Eddie had a feeling wasn’t about to happen – or until the time passed, which was more probable. So changing a few things wouldn’t be too horrible, if it made Axel more comfortable. Some people really believed that stuff, Eddie knew.

 

But then the guy proceeded to complain about the _color of the curtains_ and of his _bedsheets_ and Eddie was sure no feng shui was focusing on _that._

 

Eddie sighed and couldn’t wait for Barry to visit. At least _one_ person who didn’t take it as their life mission to make Eddie’s life a living hell. At the moment, Eddie could really appreciate that.

 

And maybe Axel would like to see someone else’s faces than his. After all, Axel saw Eddie and the Flash. ‘Barry’ wasn’t anywhere around there, during the court, ‘Barry’ wasn’t a part of that ‘idea’ of keeping Axel and Jesse away. So maybe he would be good for Axel. Making a friend could only help in this situation.

 

Only Axel didn’t seem to be on board with that plan, considering that when Eddie unlocked the door for Barry, smiling wide, when he saw him, Axel was watching them from behind the frame of the doors to the living room, his one visible eye narrowing. When Barry smiled and waved to him, Axel glared and disappeared and… yes. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea Eddie ever had.

 

Barry lifted an eyebrow at him and Eddie shrugged, because he really didn’t know what to think about it all himself. But with Barry already there – and with four boxes of pizza, the two of them decided to watch movies. Axel could stay in his room or join, it was his choice - Eddie made sure the guy knew that when he knocked on his door to inform him about the visit.

 

Axel didn’t move from where he was lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling though, so Eddie decided that was probably a ‘no, I don’t want to join you at the moment, but thank you for inviting me’. He closed the door behind him and returned to the living room, where half of on of the pizzas was already missing and Barry shrugged at him.

 

“Hey, not my fault. You know I get hungry.” Barry said with the cheese from the pizza hanging off his lips and Eddie laughed – it felt like it was the first time ever since Axel moved in too.

 

It wasn’t that he regretted his decision – he’d make it again, it was _right_. He just hoped that maybe Axel would be able to feel better. Because even though Eddie thought this whole thing was hard on _him_ , it was surely worse for Axel. The boy knew he was a prisoner in this house. Eddie could leave at any time he wanted. He still had that prisoner bracelet in his room – one that he only needed to attach to Axel and if the guy even crossed the threshold, the STAR Labs would know right away. Which means Barry would know, so the Flash could pretty much catch him before Axel would be able to take a good look out on the street.

 

He didn’t put it on the guy, though, because Eddie believed that Axel had enough on his plate already. Getting him used to Eddie first sounded like a better idea then, and Eddie was going to stick to it, even though it lost a bit of its appeal. But at least with Barry around, Eddie could relax a bit, safe in the knowledge that if Axel tried something, Barry would be able to stop him, before the guy messes his life even more.

 

Barry was sitting next to him, chattering about this or that, and Eddie still wasn’t used to Barry being so _happy._ The smiles felt less strained than before, and his back seemed a lot more relaxed. It was like with the secret of being the Flash gone, Barry was free to breathe again. Eddie liked that more. He liked that the feeling of Barry disliking him somewhere deep down kind of disappeared and Barry could be whoever he was.

 

Sure, there was still the matter of Axel, but it wasn’t like Barry couldn’t catch himself fast enough.

 

They were three pizza boxes and two movies in when the sound of soft footsteps came from the hallway and Eddie turned, just to see Axel stepping into the room.

 

Axel didn’t say anything, just picked up one of the pizzas and sat down on the sofa, his legs folded under him again and turned to the TV.  Eddie smiled behind hand, turning to the TV himself, catching Barry’s own smile from the side of his vision. Maybe Axel could make friends after all.

 

Few minutes in the third movie – Barry was staying over and for some reason Iris refused to watch the Star Wars movies with him and Eddie was just too much of a nice guy to say no to him – Eddie got up and disappeared in the kitchen, preparing three cups of chocolate. Having something to warm them would be nice and as he made his way back to the room, he could hear Axel and Barry talking.

 

“So… you like Star Wars too?” Barry asked, and Eddie could imagine that smile on his lips. Barry always seemed excited when it came to geeky things.

 

“I like the explosions. Though they are unrealistic. I could show you real ones if you want.” The cheeky answer came and Eddie rolled his eyes. No friends then, not just yet. He walked into the room, handing one cup to Barry, the other to Axel, who seemed to take it from pure shock, before sitting down himself.

 

Half an hour later, Eddie was still confused with the trilogy, but the two guys sitting in the room with him seemed to genuinely enjoy it, so he didn’t say no when Barry asked whether they should watch the new parts too. He did hesitate, though, but it was Axel’s badly masked hopeful look that made him nod. 

 

The movies were even _more_ confusing if it was possible, because supposedly those happened _before_ the ones that they just watched that evening and Eddie gave up on following. Instead his eyes strayed to Axel, who was smiling just a little at the screen. Axel, who was doing his best to hide his giggles behind his mug. Axel, who for once wasn’t glaring or snorting at him, but instead was smiling softly to himself, with his eyes shining as he watched whatever just happened on the screen.

 

For some reason Eddie couldn’t tear his gaze away.  He watched as Axel’s eyelids slowly dropped closed, just to open a few times, trying to focus on the TV, failing horribly and slipping down again.

 

***

Next few days weren’t much better. For some reason, Axel decided that Eddie was his sworn enemy and did everything that came to his mind. Well, anything that could annoy Eddie, it seemed. Barry visited every day, as promised, making the whole situation a bit more bearable, but not perfect.

 

Then the day of the bee attacks came. It was the day when Eddie was listening to the com link he got from Barry, connecting him straight to STAR Labs. The day when Eddie was forced to listen to the conversation, the day that Eddie was forced to listen to Barry _dying_ and unable to do anything.

 

It was also the day Axel tried to escape for the first time.

 

Eddie’s hands were curled in fists by his sides, shaking as he waited for anyone to say that Barry was okay. It felt like hours, the silence one the other side and Eddie was staring hard at the radio that Cisco gave him when he heard the crash. He spun around, just to see Axel half-way out of the window, which Eddie had no idea how he opened. He jumped over, catching the back of the guy’s shirt, pulling him inside. Axel didn’t go willingly of course. He kicked and hit and _screeched_ and there was _something_ happening on the com link, Eddie could hear that, he only couldn’t hear _what_ and his heart hammered in his chest. Axel was still yelling, and Eddie pulled him up against him, imprisoning his hands against his chest and pressing one hand over his mouth.

 

It was Barry’s voice on the com, saying this or that, and Eddie let out a relieved laugh. He didn’t want Barry to die. He didn’t want Joe and Iris going through that, _he_ , himself didn’t want to go through that. Not ever and especially not since the two of them became somewhat of friends.

 

“He’s okay.” Eddie whispered, the horrible weight lifting from his chest as he smiled – and then winced when his hand was _bitten_ , pulling it away from the offender.

 

Offender who was glaring at him.

  
“What a shame.” Axel hissed, his eyes narrowed. “The Flash just doesn’t know when to die, does he? I can’t say I would miss him.” Axel spat and it had to be the whole day getting to Eddie or something, because that was the moment he _snapped._

 

Not even Eddie expected the punch that came flying, so it was not a surprise that Axel didn’t either, staring at him from the ground with a cheek that would be pretty swelled in few hours. Eddie grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him up, before throwing him on one of the chairs, and before Axel could do anything, Eddie had his arms pulled back, the handcuffs clicking through the ornaments of the chair and over his wrists.

 

It was only after Eddie pulled away, taking a shaky breath that the kid collected himself, spitting and hissing, yanking on the handcuffs. 

 

“What the hell are you doing?!”

 

“This is where you’re going to stay until you learn some manners. You should be thankful to people who saved you from the prison, not behave like this.” Eddie said, his chest heaving as he tried to force himself to calm down. To take deep breaths.

 

“So this is about the Flash.” Axel sneered and Eddie could see this was not going to end up pretty. He walked to the window, quickly closing and locking it, making a note to himself to maybe get someone who’d be able to get them bars in front of it. For the windows down there at least.

 

“… you know who The Flash is, don’t you?” Axel asked and Eddie turned to look at him. The kid had manic look in his eyes, and there was still a sneer on his face, one that should probably be a grin. “That’s why you have that com and why you’re so freaked out because of this. You know what? He should’ve died. He should’ve died already when father was trying to kill him and-“

 

“He’s not your father!” Eddie was yelling again and he blinked, shocked. What was it about this kid that could get his blood boiling like that? He ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. “The sooner you realize that the better.” Eddie said quietly, and the kid was glaring.

 

“Sooner or later someone will kill him, you know.” Axel said, glaring. “He won’t be able to just run forever. They just need to slow him down enough.”

 

Eddie watched him for a moment, before he shook his head and turned, walking to the door.

 

“Goodnight, Axel.”

 

“What do you mean, goodnight!” Axel yelled and Eddie could hear him pulling at the handcuffs again. “You can’t leave me here like this!”

 

There was even more yelling, but Eddie didn’t stop and turn to listen to it, just walked up the stairs and into his room. He closed the door behind him, leaning back against it, and took a deep breath. The door didn’t silence Axel’s shouts, just muffled them and Eddie didn’t move for a while.

 

His heart was still beating like crazy, adrenaline running through him and Eddie took a shaky breath. Eddie pushed away from the door, pulling his clothes off as he made his way to the bathroom. He needed a shower. He needed to clear his head, he needed to calm down, to make sense out of everything that happened. He needed to figure out if he could do this.

 

Eddie wasn’t stupid enough to think Axel wouldn’t run. He knew it, he was waiting for it, he just didn’t expect it in that moment. His body was tensed with the worry about Barry, because it was one thing having The Flash protecting the city, risking his life – and it was something else knowing the face of the person. Knowing he had a life, knowing he had friends, family… knowing Eddie was part of that all too. And perhaps it was making Eddie a horrible person that he worried and cared now much more than he did before. At first Eddie wanted to catch The Flash – because helping or not, Flash was still moving outside of the law, breaking it little by little. Because the Flash wasn’t part of the force – oh how wrong Eddie was.

 

Axel used that opportunity. The kid was smart, Eddie had to give him that. He was waiting patiently for days, not doing more than making sure that Eddie knew how much he didn’t appreciate staying with him, but he didn’t do anything else. Not until that moment, not until he saw Eddie distracted, blind with fear and the knowledge there was nothing he could do to help. Axel used that moment and Eddie couldn’t really blame him. The way the kid was thinking…

 

Eddie sighed and leaned his head back, letting the warm water hit his face as he went through the events again. He hated not being able to help, hated being forced to sit and wait, just praying that everything would be okay, his hands itching to grab a gun and go over to Barry and… to even shoot the bees or whatever. Anything to be of any use.

 

He was feeling useless, and Axel noticed. And with being as smart as he was, Axel knew exactly where to strike to make it hurt, where to strike to make Eddie angry. Eddie had no idea what outcome Axel expected, really, but probably not the one he got.

 

… he didn’t deserve it either. Eddie might not be as brilliant as the kid, but even he knew he shouldn’t have lashed out.

 

He closed his eyes against the warm spray of the water on his face and sighed. The guilt started seeping into his heart slowly. No matter what, he shouldn’t have punched Axel. It was Axel’s fault a bit, for pushing and pushing and _pushing_ , but Eddie was the one who let himself be provoked. Axel, was the prisoner there. Even though Eddie did his best to pretend it wasn’t like that, even thought he kept telling himself that was the best that the kid could get at the moment, it wasn’t the truth. Axel _was_ a prisoner. He felt like prisoner and it was no wonder he acted the way he did. Eddie was the one who messed up. He shouldn’t have done that.

 

He took a deep breath, turning the water off and stepping out, drying himself quickly. He blinked when he got to his room, noticing it was quiet. Axel had to calm down. He couldn’t face the guy though, so Eddie pulled on some boxers before slipping under the covers. He closed his eyes, pulling the blanket all the way up to his shoulders, just breathing.

 

The sleep didn’t come though. It didn’t seem like it planned to.

 

***

 

It was three or four am when Eddie couldn’t take lying in bed anymore and finally got up. He washed himself quickly, not really being able to even look himself in the eyes in the mirror before he made his way down.

 

It was still quiet and when Eddie glanced into the kitchen, his heart broke. Axel was curled up on the chair, his hands still in handcuffs. His feet were propped up, shins pressing against the table, right shoulder twisted in really ugly angle and head leaned back, his mouth slightly opened.

 

Eddie winced, because he was pretty sure that was going to hurt as hell when the boy wakes up. Once again the guilt pierced his heart and stepped quietly closer, kneeling down and pulling the keys from his pocket, unlocking the handcuffs and pulling Axel’s hands free. Axel’s wrists were red and raw, the guy obviously pulled and yanked at them a lot to scratch the skin that much.

 

Eddie sighed and walked around the chair, slipping on arm around Axel’s back and the other under his knees, lifting him up. He stopped when he heard the kid wince and looked down at him. Axel’s face was pressed against Eddie’s chest, but there was a little frown, his eyebrows pushed together as Eddie jolted his shoulder.

 

He tried to push the regrets away as he carried Axel to the sofa, putting him down. He was still asleep so Eddie dared a quick run to the bathroom and back, carrying first aid kid along. Softly he took one of Axel’s hands and applied healing ointment to his wrist and bandaging it, before doing the same with the other one as well. No matter what he did, he knew that it will still hurt and itch when Axel wakes but maybe this way the bandage would stop him from scrubbing at it.

 

His eyes moved to Axel’s eye, bruised and swollen as Eddie expected and Eddie winced again. He stood up and pulled the blanket that was at the end of the couch over the sleeping boy, before walking to the kitchen.

 

Last day didn’t end that well. This one didn’t start that well either. But maybe pancakes could do things at least a tiny bit better. Everyone loved pancakes, after all and the sugar and sweets would do both of them good. If Eddie remembered right, he even had strawberries somewhere.

 

***

 

When Axel woke up, first thing he realized there was no hard table digging into his knees as there was when he was falling asleep. Actually, he wasn’t even sitting up, there was nothing hard pressing into his back and his hands weren’t behind his back.

 

He opened his eyes and blinked at the ceiling, trying to get his brain to cooperate, but it felt like it was moving through cotton, getting stuck here and there. He frowned and pressed his hand over the back of the couch, pulling himself out – and groaning in the process, because his shoulder felt like it was going to die or rot off while still attached to Axel’s body. The image was disgusting and Axel glanced at it, just to make sure that nothing like that was happening just yet.

 

It wasn’t, which was good and there was bandage on his wrist that caught Axel’s attention. The memories of the previous day came rushing, the handcuffs, the chair, everything… and Axel sighed. Great, that explained why his back felt fucking broken.

 

His bladder was also _pulsing_ and Axel jumped up from the sofa, ignoring the pain in his muscles for the moment as he ran to the bathroom. Taking a piss never felt that good. Once done, he was once again able to think.

 

Axel being on the sofa also had to mean that the cop was up as well – the delicious smell was part of the evidence as well and Axel took a deep breath before walking to the kitchen.

 

His mouth watered at the sight, because on the table there were the best looking pancakes Axel has ever seen, along with whipped cream, chocolate and freaking strawberries. He wondered for a moment if he could steal some without the cop noticing anything, maybe take the whole plate and run with it to his room, closing it behind him. Axel was pretty sure he could eat them quickly enough that even when the cop would get to his room there wouldn’t be any left. He was half decided when the man turned from the counter and smiled, wide and blinding.

 

“Hey, morning. Sit down, start eating.” The blonde said and Axel was tempted to look back, to check whether that bothersome friend of his was standing behind Axel, because there was no way the guy would be so _nice_ to Axel after yesterday. Not after everything that happened. But the guy just laughed at Axel’s look.

 

“And yes, I mean you, Axel, before you ask.”

 

Well, that at least answered the question at least. Axel shrugged and sat down, eyeing the plate that was pushed over to him suspiciously.

 

“Did you add something into them?” He asked, picking up a fork and poking one lightly. It didn’t move and nothing sprayed out. It didn’t even wink at Axel, so it was probably done with still good milk too. Now that was really suspicious.

 

“No.” The guy said and there was something about his voice… something that made Axel look up at him and lift an eyebrow. The cop sighed and grimaced, turning off the stove and taking his own plate before sitting down opposite Axel.

 

“It’s an apology.”

 

Axel’s eyebrows moved up all the way to hide into his hair at that. An apology? What for? Perhaps he asked that out loud too, because the guy shrugged.

 

“For yesterday. I was a bit stressed and worried and you just pushed at the wrong time. I shouldn’t have hit you. I had no right. I’m sorry.”

  
Axel rolled his eyes at that.

 

“Look here, Coppie-“

 

“Eddie.”

 

“What?” Axel blinked, confused and the cop smiled.

 

“My name is Eddie. Seems like we’re stuck with each other for some time. So you can just call me Eddie.” The guy shrugged. “After all I call you by your name. It’s only fair.”

 

Axel stared at the cop for a moment, wondering if he could be unlucky enough to score the only retarded cop as the jailor or something before shaking his head.

 

“Doesn’t matter. Cop –Eddie” Axel corrected himself when the guy opened his mouth, and he smiled like a content dog when Axel did, and Axel pushed down whatever gushing feelings that made emerge in his chest, “I can take a hit. No big deal.” He shrugged. It wasn’t first and Axel had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be the last time either. But the gu-Eddie’s face fell at that and he frowned.

 

“… I read your file, you know.” He said quietly and Axel’s eyes widened at that. He knew that, logically, of course the person who was going to be in charge of a criminal would get all information available about them to know what to expect. But hearing that still came as a shock to Axel and he forced his eyes to meet Eddie’s.

 

“Doesn’t matter.”

 

“They had no right-“

 

“Doesn’t matter.” Axel hissed, his hand clutching the fork as he frowned and looked down, before pushing a fair bit of the pancake into his mouth. He forced a grin on his face as he looked at the co- Eddie. “Hey, these are good. Maybe that’s why the Flash keeps you around!”

 

The sigh Axel got in return wasn’t exactly the theatrical reaction he expected or wanted, but it at least changed the subject, so he’d take that.

 

***

 

Something changed after that though, Eddie noticed. Maybe it was something they had to go through, so Axel could learn where the boundaries lay, what not to cross, when to stop pushing.

 

The kid was still a pain – but then there were moments when he would flop on the couch next to Eddie who was watching something on the TV and pretended not to pay attention to Axel. Axel, who would be quiet for a moment and then he’d go off on a very long monologue about fire arms, something that Eddie wasn’t really interested in, but knew so much about that it was already under his skin. He keeps quiet though, not really wanting to kid to talk about guns – Eddie wanted to keep him _out_ of the guns and explosion stuff, so that the boy wouldn’t miss anything. So Eddie did his best not to react. Axel asked about this or that and Eddie smiled and shrugged, but didn’t say a word.

 

That was, until the boy said something _wrong._ He said something about the new Glock 22 having the .45 caliber and Eddie flinched at that. Before he knew what he was doing he was correcting him, saying it was .40, which was a big deal, because of the whole ammunition. He glanced at Axel, and there was this _look_ in his eyes, something that told Eddie that he just got played. Before he could say anything about that and not letting himself be fooled again, Axel grinned at him, bright and wide.

 

“You would know that, right?” He asked and shrugged. “You have one on your own.”

 

“Actually I’m using a Beretta.” Eddie said and then winced when Axel started to giggle.

 

“Tricked you.” The kid said, sticking out his tongue and Eddie rolled his eyes.

  
“I’m not going to talk fire power with you.”

 

Axel smirked and shrugged, leaning back on the sofa and throwing his arms behind it.

 

“You already are.”

 

And he had a point. Eddie might not like that, but Axel was right so he forced himself to take a deep breath, before he turned to the kid.

 

“What’s your favorite color? Movie? Book? Favorite food?” It seemed like for once it was Eddie surprising Axel, and not the other way around, because the boy started at him before frowning.

  
“What?” He asked and Eddie smiled.

 

“I just want to know what you like. If there are movies that you like more – I already know you like the Star Wars trilogies. You might like Star Trek too? I heard it’s almost the same.”

 

It was funny watching Axel’s eyes widen and seeing how he spluttered for a moment before gaping.

 

“What, just what?! They are _so_ not. Both are great, but they are so _very_ different, both focusing on different things and-“

 

“Aren’t they both in space?” Eddie asked, confused and Axel screamed. It was frustrated and adorable and Eddie couldn’t help but smile.

 

“That’s the thing that you’re basing the similarities on?! What? How can you even say that?!” Axel looked so offended, that Eddie couldn’t help himself. He laughed, shaking his head at him, because how could he not find that funny?

 

“Your nerd is showing.” Eddie said and he while he expected the gaping face of Axel’s, he didn’t expect the pillow hitting his own. But the kid was giggling once more, trying to hit Eddie with the pillow again and Eddie laughed and then one moment he was protecting his head from Axel’s attack, then he moved and next Axel was lying on the sofa under him, the pillow pressing between their chests as the two laughed into each other’s faces.

 

Axel’s breath turned into hot puffs on Eddie’s skin as he snickered, his grin wide and eyes shining with mirth and glee. Eddie himself was breathing hard, but smiling, his own heart bursting with all kinds of emotions. The kid pushed at Eddie’s chest and giggled saying something about getting Eddie when he won’t be expecting it or so, he wasn’t sure. Eddie didn’t pay attention, because his eyes slipped down to Axel’s grinning lips, to the way they were pulled to the sides and screamed happiness… and he had no idea what got into him.

 

He only noticed after he moved down and his pressed his lips against the warmth of Axel’s. Eddie’s eyes slipped closed for a second, before they snapped opened and he pulled back, staring at the guy. Who was looking at Eddie, wide eyed and gaping.

 

“I’m sorry.” Eddie said, more than just surprised at his own actions and quickly got up, turning his back on the kid. “I need to make lunch. Barry’s coming today again, and he’ll want lunch. He eats everything, even things that are like a month after expiration date and Iris would twist my neck if he got sick after visiting here. Again.” He said, before hurrying to the kitchen. “Need to check if I have something like that or not.”

 

Eddie rambled, as he quickly closed the door behind himself and took a deep breath. What the hell did he do? Why did he think that was a good idea? Was he even thinking?! He wasn’t thinking that was the problem. He groaned,  hitting his head back against the door and sighed. That was even worse, wasn’t it? Because he wasn’t thinking and seeing Axel like that, content and happy and just… there, it moved something in Eddie. It made his heart jump before beating so contently, like it was normal, that he really didn’t even think about it. He just leaned down and –

 

Eddie sighed, before he licked his lips, feeling the ghostly press of Axel’s lips against his own still, and he shook his head.  He was an idiot.

 

***

 

Eddie kind of expected Axel to say something. He expected him to ask about it, he expected him to make fun, perhaps and joke around… but he didn’t. He didn’t act out either. Axel watched him, quiet and frowning, before he’d look down into his own plate, as if thinking, and Eddie pretended his heart didn’t hammer in his chest as they ate.

 

It was stupid. Feeling this unsettled because of a single kiss. Not even a real kiss just a peck or something, because the touch didn’t linger that long. It was just… Eddie still didn’t understand why he did that. His brain stopped working and it felt… natural to lean down and just press his lips against Axel’s, as if it was a motion he went through every day. Which it wasn’t, which it shouldn’t be. That was why Eddie felt so… shaken. Because it shouldn’t feel alright, and surely it shouldn’t feel like something Eddie would like to do _again_. It shouldn’t feel like something that he believed might push that frown away from Axel’s face. It wasn’t like Axel was in love with him. It was Eddie who had these stupid ideas, so the kiss would have no positive effect on the boy.

 

He looked up at the kid who was pushing the tomato around on his plate. Something in Eddie’s chest surged and reared its head and Eddie groaned in the back of his mind. Oh he knew that feeling. He knew that giddy, shivering almost hurting feeling. God when was the last time he felt that? The quivering mess that almost made him choke on it, and he wasn’t able to breathe?

 

That was right, with Iris. With Iris who was full of life, smiles and kindness, so much kindness. And bravery.  But that didn’t work out – it wouldn’t work out, because Eddie might be naïve from time to time, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew what love looked like, and the way Iris smiled and talked about certain someone that wasn’t him… Eddie didn’t even ask.

 

But right now… feeling this with Axel… Eddie’s heart thumped louder in his ears just thinking about trying to have something with Axel. The kid was criminal in the past, sure. But he was doing better now. Eddie himself believed he was manipulated into it all, and… and if Eddie could give this a chance –

 

Axel looked up at that, lifted an eyebrow at Eddie and Eddie took a deep breath, before leaning over and taking the tomato from Axel’s plate. He pushed it into his mouth, swallowing before giving Axel a smile.

 

The kid rolled his eyes at him, but there was a small answering smile on his face and that was the moment Eddie decided. He let one opportunity to be happy slip through his fingers – he wasn’t going to repeat that mistake. Not if he could help it. There was just one problem.

 

… how did one woo a trickster?

**Author's Note:**

> Come and join me at [My tumblr ](http://gemenice.tumblr.com) if you want :D
> 
> Also there are these wonderful pictures made by my friend to it too! [The pretty pretty pictures](http://gemenice.tumblr.com/post/133731458534/me-and-my-friend-were-fooling-around-with-my-story)


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